Dillard, Oregon TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

Unit 1-Teachers and Learners is the first unit that provides a general framework of how one will be successful as both the teacher and or student in a TEFL classroom. In order to become a good teacher, there are various qualities one should possess, which include: kindness, patience, love of the profession, entertaining, good grasp of subject matter, good rapport with students, involves all students, assesses and corrects weaknesses without making the student feel embarrassed. A good teacher must also be able to manage the numerous teaching roles that occur in any given lesson; the teaching roles include: manager(teacher-led), organizer(organize lessons/group students), assessor(grade), prompter(encourage), participant(join in activity), tutor(work closely), facilitator(provide time to practice), model(show how to do correctly), and monitor(observe how students are progressing). According to Unit 1, a good student has a willingness to listen to the language, a desire to experiment with the language, ask questions, the ability to self-evaluate, can handle making errors, and has a desire to learn the new language. TEFL learners come to the classroom at various ages. The young learners are grouped into three categories: The first learner is usually (13 years old or older) and are difficult to teach; the learners are generally less motivated and are more self-conscious when making mistakes. The second group is the pre-puberty learners (8-12 years old) and are more willing to learn new sounds. The third group is the very young learners (7-years old or younger). This group has not mastered their native language but are willing to learn a new language if it is motivating. Adult learners tend to have more life experience, which can be both good and bad. Adults are more motivated to learn and tend to be more nervous based on their life experiences. In addition, adults take the classes seriously and can provide more variety of conversational topics in the classroom. The cultural aspect of learning can play a crucial role in the success of a TEFL classroom. A good teacher must understand and be sensitive to the student’s culture. The Asian culture takes education very seriously and only speaks when the instructor asks for participation. On the other hand, in the Latin- American culture, a more hands-on approach is more effective. Learners come into the TEFL classroom at various levels. The beginner has the most basic of understanding and may have zero knowledge of English. The elementary level can form basic sentence structure. Then there is the low/pre-intermediate level where the learner can understand more but lacks fluency. Next is the intermediate level where the learner can communicate a great deal more but still lacks in fluency and accuracy. Following this level, is the upper-intermediate level where the learner can converse fluently, but still needs help in accuracy. The last level is advanced where the learner has a good grasp of English but needs help in more subtle language cues. It is important to note that the Council of Europe has established 6 levels which are like the levels mentioned above from the most basic: Breakthrough, Basic User, A1 to the most advanced: Mastery Proficient User, C2. Like in all classrooms, a student’s motivation is the key to a productive and successful classroom. There are several factors that motivate students to learn a new language, which includes: future career prospects, traveling abroad, improving grades, studying in an English country, conversing with friends or colleagues, and general interest in the language. A good teacher must inspire students to do their very best to be successful.